Grand County Judge Ben McClelland will be leaving office after Grand County voters ousted him, 3,222 to 2,841, during Tuesday’s election. This past summer, the 14th Judicial District Performance Commission recommended that the judge not be retained, and county voters followed their advice despite the fact that about two-thirds of judges recommended for non-retention are retained anyway.

The latest campaign finance reports filed by Routt County candidates reveal the biggest spenders heading into Election Day claimed victory in every race. But in the case of the Routt County Commissioner's race, the vote gap was a lot closer than the spending gap.

Cari Hermacinski outpolled incumbent Steve Ivancie by 89 votes out of 10,125 cast, but the presence of 107 ballots that had signatures that did not closely match the signatures on file for the voter has left a shred of doubt about the ultimate outcome.

The defeat of the tax measure sends downtown business leaders back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to secure more revenue for upkeep and improvements in a downtown area that just two years ago was scrambling to find money to save flower baskets on Lincoln Avenue. It also casts doubt on whether the Steamboat Springs City Council will continue to consider a proposal from the city to use tax increment financing under an urban renewal authority to fund things like sidewalks and pedestrian lighting downtown.

Sometime after 7 p.m. Tuesday, everyone will learn whether commercial property owners in the downtown BID will pay an extra property tax worth four mills that could be spent on things like wayfinding signage, trash and recycling collection and parking management.

Candidate Chuck McConnell said the charge that he backs a plan to drain tax dollars out of public schools in Routt and Eagle counties and send them to private schools in Denver is “ludicrous, but probably hurting me.” The claim was made in a super PAC mailer.

A referendum on the local ballot next week will ask the residents of Steamboat's Tree Haus Metropolitan District to approve an increase in their mill levy to help pay off the cost of improving its sewer system.

Long before I was a state senator, before becoming a small-business owner but right after I had started my own family, I became a licensed professional engineer. I was motivated by the opportunity to better my wife and children, and I loved the opportunity to fix things and to solve complex problems.
Along the way, I became inspired by the Engineer’s Code of Ethics.

Throughout the past four years, it has been an honor representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. We have seen our economy marginally improve during the past four years, but as you know, we still have a long way to go.

My name is Wayne Williams, El Paso County clerk and recorder and candidate for Colorado Secretary of State. Seventeen years ago, I first served on the Canvass Board overseeing elections. I saw firsthand the importance of fair and accurate processes.

My name is Joe Neguse, and I am running for secretary of state for a very simple reason: I believe that the right to vote is sacred. My parents came to this country more than 30 years ago from a war torn country in East Africa.

Nearly six years ago, the people of Colorado sent me to the U.S. Senate on a promise to bring Colorado common sense to Washington. With the nation reeling from two wars in the Middle East and an economy hobbled by a financial crisis, we needed a change.

Opportunity that used to come here is passing us by. Good jobs that have supported our communities are being threatened, and some have left the state. We see economic numbers telling us that there’s pockets of good news, but in much of the state, families still are waiting for the recovery to show up at their kitchen table.

Hello, fellow Coloradans. I am running to be your next state treasurer.
Many of you know that I have more than 30 years experience running two successful businesses, working in the public sector in the Departments of Treasury and Homeland Security and, of course, Congress.

It has been an honor to serve as your state treasurer for the past 3 1/2 years.
Since taking office in January 2011, I have woken up each day focused on protecting Colorado’s taxpayers. Too often, politicians need to be reminded that your hard-earned tax dollars should be protected and not used as their personal piggy bank.

I am running to be Colorado’s next attorney general to protect all that makes Colorado great: our people, our communities and our natural treasures. I’ve spent my career as a prosecutor, not a politician, and I know by working together, we can build a safer and stronger Colorado.

I have been honored to serve as your chief deputy attorney general for the past 9 1/2 years. As second-in-command of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, I have worked with General John Suthers to build an exceptional public law office for the state and its residents.

I’m Marcia Neal, and I’m running for re-election to the State Board of Education for a second term.
I’m a Colorado native and have lived in Grand Junction all of my adult life. I have 25 years in the classroom, mostly as a history teacher. I then served eight years on the Board of Education in Mesa County. In 2008, I was elected to the State Board.

I am Cari Hermacinski, and I’d like to be your Routt County commissioner. As a lifelong resident of the Yampa Valley, I want to work to make certain Routt County stays a place for future generations to prosper and enjoy.

Local and state candidates faced off Tuesday night in an election forum hosted by the Steamboat Springs Board of Realtors, Routt County Democratic and Republican parties and the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Ballots for the 2014 general election will be arriving in the homes of Routt County residents this week. The Routt County Clerk and Recorder's Office reports that 14,932 ballots were mailed out to registered voters Oct. 13.